Tesla bring the future online

California begins to benefit from Tesla’s battery storage ambitions.

If you live in Ontario (the Californian one), there is a good possibility that your home tv, blender or air conditioning is being run by battery power.

The innovative risk takers Tesla have opened their brand new Mira Loma battery storage facility 35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles and are proving the concept of large scale battery storage.

The preservation of electricity, generated in excess quantities or – particularly in the case of renewable energy sources – at times of low demand, is a no brainer, which is shaping up to be a real threat to the legacy that Trump’s pro-oil administration will surely leave behind. And it’s not just a US opportunity. The global applications of battery storage on both a domestic and industrial scale are mind boggling, paving the way for economical local generation of green energy.

The Tesla facility boasts enough storage capacity to power 15,000 power-hungry American homes for four hours. Or 2,500 for a full day. And complementing this industrial scale development, Elon Musk’s vibrant team of engineers appear likely to reveal the follow-up to the domestic Powerwall battery solution as the existing model is taken off the shelves.

The volume of global installed battery capacity was less than a gigawatt last year. California alone has ambitions to install a further 1.32GW by the end of 2020. Tesla’s ambitions stretch further, with a proposed target of 15GW by the 2020s, effectively replacing entire power plants. These sort of stretch goals have been boosted by the momentus drop in prices for lithium-ion batteries and the rise of the electric car industry in which we all place increasing faith of success.

The advent and development of battery technology has shaped an exciting new industry. Storage has been noticeable by its absence from electricity grids and facilities such as Mira Loma serve not only to prove a concept, but in our opinion shape the way for huge growth in the global battery storage industry.

About the author

Rod Westwood

Rod’s industry experience stems from a decade working in business consultancy specialising in the global oil & gas industry. During this time, he has provided commercial and market expertise to support finance raising and equity investments totalling in excess of $10 billion for clients in more than 50 countries. His passion for technology & energy go hand in hand in the development of the UtilityClick software platform.